


The Magician

by Hollenka99



Series: Creator AU [11]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Gen, Implied grief, Kidnapping, Magic, Referenced stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-09-01 03:16:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollenka99/pseuds/Hollenka99
Summary: Marvin's side of the story until September 2017.





	The Magician

Frustrated is not how anyone wants to begin their life. Unfortunately for Jack the Magnificent, his life starts exactly like that. The magic tricks that actually worked had been lacklustre at best. On top of everything, this was certainly not his grandmom's home. Given he needed to deliver her pain medication as soon as he was able, this was not ideal.

It turns out this is his new home. He was happy staying with his grandmom but sure, he was willing to give this place a shot. He also happens to share his name with one of his new housemates. Other Jack invites him inside, not taking long to question how aware he was of being somewhat fictional. He knew enough. The boy hero who he would also be living with quickly dubbed him Magnificent to avoid confusion between the two Jacks. It would do for now.

Magnificent is shown his room. It's a decent size. His books were probably at his grandmom's home. If he built a bookshelf, he'd be able to fit them in. A plant pot could fit in that corner. A tiny one on the windowsill would be nice as well. This room is definitely devoid of nature. He doesn't plan on having any pets any time soon. He's not even sure animals are allowed here because he hasn't seen any around the house yet. Knowing him, he'll end up attracting some sort of wildlife eventually. He should amass his collection of flora gradually in case he needs the space for any fauna.

It was a decent bedroom, all it needed was a little work. He should probably find a clock too. Magnificent felt he was the type to get too invested in his books. He'd need a clock to keep him in check. None of those terrible metal ones either. He wouldn't be able to tolerate something so steel-heavy, regardless of how stainless it was. Not that he expected a wall clock to get frequently stained in the first place.

The morning after his arrival, Other Jack begins a conversation about their shared name. He suggests a solution. The second "Marvin" leaves Jack's mouth, things seem to slot into place. Yes, his name was Marvin. Life here wouldn't get confusing. Well, not quite as confusing. He was still occasionally slipping up with the syllable difference between Jack and Jackie. He won't mention the mix ups to Grandmom. She'd likely chastise him for being careless with such crucial details. At least he had 'Marvin' now. It was far better protection than 'Jack' for... the other one.

Now he had protection, he wanted to improve his magic. The most logical place to begin was the elements. He strengthens his flames then moves onto plants. He tries his hand at raising a gladiolus. While it won't require frequent watering, it will give him the opportunity to practise generating water too. How he's going to improve his control of the wind remains a mystery for now. 

He finds that Jackie enjoys staying in proximity of his magic. He stays out of the way for the most part. Marvin supposes he can stick around while he practises. He briefly reconsiders when the kid nearly scorches his hand. Still, Jackie hangs out in his room. They get to talking as Marvin attempts to speed up the gladiolus' growth.

He supposes he could watch Guardians of the Galaxy with him at some point. He's already told Jackie about his grandmom. What has he got to lose, spending time doing something more focused on Jackie's interests? Marvin isn't sure how Jackie convinced him to consider creating a plant reminiscent of Baby Groot. Not that it could be done. Giving a plant an extra bit of help to bloom is extremely different from reanimation. What does Jackie think he is, a necromancer?

Whatever he tries, he continues to be unable to get the hang of card tricks. He tests his lack of expertise on both Jack and Jackie. It never goes his way. At one point, he cheats and makes them see specific cards. The praise and encouragement to carry on improving doesn't feel earned. Fed up, he eventually resorts to teaching a boy who was 9 years his junior to play a certain card game. Jack wouldn't and definitely doesn't approve of it when he finds out. To be fair, it was more strategic than Monopoly.

In early September, all he had wanted from the shopping trip was to get was some milk and maybe find something for dinner. Nothing ever seems to be that simple. In addition to the groceries, he brings home a dying superhero. The entire journey, he can only focus on four words spoken through gritted teeth:

"Marv, I messed up."

The magician alerts the others as loudly as he can when they get through the door. Jack could have spent nights learning first aid. Angus, even if he wasn't as proficient as he once was, must have the knowledge in case of animal attacks out in the wild. It must be quite the image when Jack rushes to see the teen suffering from a wavering consciousness while leaning on Marvin.

Their youngest friend is hospitalised. The entire journey, he speaks to Jackie. He catches himself almost promising Jackie it will be fine. He knows better than to make promises. He knows not to say something so binding when he's not sure he can keep it. He instead rambles on about how much he hates their kitchen appliances and Jack's car. Anything to distract from how far the closest hospital felt.

Marvin excuses himself as Jack continues on inside. Fearing the worst is the sole reason he feels unwell is an act. He takes Jack's lead fairly quickly and stays close to Jackie for as long as they are permitted. Jackie is fine, all things considered. His nose is broken and one of his eye is starting to shine. Then, of course, there were the two knife wounds. The handful of days spent waiting to bring Jackie home with them pass too slowly. He calls Jackie 'Occupational Hazard' at one point to lighten the mood. Jackie's tiny smile means more to him than it likely should.

Jackie says sorry when they are alone. Marvin should advise him not to phrase it that way to someone like him. There are a bunch of reasons why it goes against etiquette and could be seen as an insult. He doesn't have the energy to educate him. Besides, after everything they've gone through, it's not an appropriate time.

Having spoken to Sean, Jack brings the news they should expect another member of their household. An ego with plenty of medical knowledge? Please make him get here as soon as possible. After all that has happened, Marvin will greet this rumoured doctor with open arms.

Dr Schneeplestein's arrival also introduces the concept of other egos having relatives. It didn't change the fact Marvin's parents didn't exist despite Grandmom being real. At least someone else could understand what it was like to have a past that must have happened even if he came into existence an adult. At least he had some foundation to his identity that extended beyond a role.

Another benefit to Schneeplestein's entrance into their lives was his supervision. Now he could train his more destructive abilities with increased safety. It was a good thing too, given there was going to be a lot of practise involved. At one point, he summons an umbrella instead of a shield due to a linguistic blunder. Learning how to correctly cast spells without any issues is annoyingly gradual. If he had a euro for every time he was told he'd get there soon, he'd probably be rich enough to not need magic in the first place. Still, he perseveres.

Things become interesting once Jackie learns how to fly. Soon, Marvin is creating rings of fire or leaves for Jackie to pass through. No, he's not going to shrink the flame ring to make it challenging. He expands it to enforce his point. Outside he is surprised to find Jackie is more agile. Marvin keeps raising platforms of stalks. Wait, hang on, you're going to keep your nose as the only bone you've ever broken or so help me-

He is good friends with a reckless dumbass. Yet he can't help but egg on Jackie's experimentation of his new abilities. The balloon thing is a prime example of that. He doesn't blame Henrik for looking like he's incredibly close to facepalming.

The day before Halloween, Jackie unintentionally puts Marvin in a difficult position. His friend catches him reading a book on his kind. The discussion is innocent enough until it diverges into the concept of possessing a name. One minute he's explaining how the practice of middle names came to be. The next, Marvin lets slip he has another name. He can't believe he would be stupid as to reveal that fact.

He has only known Jackie for two months. The hero may have grown to be his best friend in that time but that was irrelevant. Nevertheless, he felt Jackie would prove trustworthy. Oh, Grandmom will have his head for this. The best way to protect his name was to act as if he didn't have it. You can't find a name you didn't know existed. He ends up telling Jackie he may call him Liam. It is a convincing lie with the right amount of hesitation. In the very least, it is enough to satisfy Jackie's curiosity.

They mess about while Jack recorded that year's pumpkin video. He doesn't like the anxiety on Jackie's face triggered by checking his phone. Within minutes, Marvin is sprinting to Henrik's home. Even attempts to harness the wind to increase his speed can't get him there fast enough.

He is unable to truly console Jackie. All the boy does is ramble on about the scene he'd been unfortunate enough to witness. He gets caught on certain points like Jack's appearance and how someone broke in without them knowing. Marvin is happy to allow Jackie to use him to let it all out. What he won't stand for is listening as he blames himself for not preventing the incident. Neither of them could have known. Never mind, they have to hope Jack will pull through. As interesting as Henrik's methods could be, Marvin trusted him enough to do his best. He can tell Jackie doesn't believe him.

After all that, Jackie struggles to enter the infirmary. Even when Jack is awake and talking, Marvin has to encourage him to get closer. See, it's fine. Jackie doesn't see him dashing off in a panic once they're told about Antisepticeye, does he? If Marvin can pretend he wasn't petrified of this threat's potential influence on him, Jackie could come inside and properly visit Jack.

Sean comes over after Jack regains consciousness. The fight between them loses ignition faster than he expected. Jackie shows up unexpectedly at his door, irritated.

"Do you have a silencing spell? You know, something that can stop me from hearing the argument."  
"Uh... I don't think so. Are they bickering again? I can't hear it."  
"Yes, of course they're at it again. I can't stand it anymore." His friend glowers, eyes flicking momentarily towards the medical bay. "I'm going out for a little while."  
"Alright. You'll stay out of trouble, won't you, young man?"  
Jackie scoffs, hiding his slight amusement. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

It is the last thing they say to each other for months.

He is the one to realise their resident superhero was yet to return. The dread grows to unbearable levels the longer it takes to search. His magic simultaneously gets harder to keep under wraps. He can't think of anything other than what could have happened. This new ego, Antisepticeye, had attempted to kill Jack purely for attention. To prove he could. Who knew what he was capable of?

Worst of all, Jack has to be told. Marvin considers asking Henrik to do it for him. But he couldn't put him through that, especially given how stressful the surgery he performed must have been. Sean was a non-starter too. His involvement would trigger more tensions between the two parties. Their argument was the reason Jackie left the relative safety of home, after all.

It's late in the morning when he informs Jack of the situation. He deserves better, certainly not someone who hasn't slept and was exhausted from being on his feet the entire night. Jack appears lost at this announcement. There he was, stuck in a hospital bed as per Henrik's instructions, unable to do anything. He tells Jack he'll keep looking. His bedridden friend frowns as he makes him promise to get some rest first. Marvin refuses to promise but he will waste a valuable hour recuperating.

Whatever they try, no leads present themselves.

He hates Christmas. Jackie has been missing for nearly two months and there has been no progress. The holiday atmosphere can be as jolly as it wants. It won't bring the young hero home. Jack talks for too long about that dumb diary he's started. The turkey isn't exactly cremated but it certainly gets closer to that state than it should. Put that in the diary. Marvin doesn't see why they can't just tell Jackie in person once he's back. Make notes if you think you're going to forget, sure, whatever. Jackie has to still be alive, right? Marvin's first goal had been the end of November. He'd extended it to New Year's Eve. While he still had time, he was anticipating the need to push the deadline back further to February 6th.

He finds a blue Abyssinian lurking around during another fruitless attempt to search Athlone. He disregards her. She likely has a family who are waiting for her to return home. She should hurry up and get back to them soon too. January's not the best month for wandering the streets. Marvin sees her multiple times before finally noticing she has no form of identification. Fine, he supposes he can be kind to her if she's on her own. But he has better things to worry about than a single stray cat in a town this large. Wait, why was she lingering around Sean's street? Alright then, she can come inside if she finds him this trustworthy. Maybe he should take her to a vet. Just to make sure she's relatively healthy, all things considered. They could help start the process of finding her a good home. 

Marvin finally relents when she makes it clear how she feels. Okay, okay, stop yelling. He'll look into ways to make his home more accommodating for a pet. He is being wholly unimaginative when he names her. Female and a breed that originates from Egypt? He's sure she won't be the first cat to be named Bastet, let alone the first Abyssinian.

Jack loves her while respecting the need to keep the transition as smooth as possible. Angus offers all the advice he has at his disposal. Marvin is simply pleased when she chooses to chill out in his proximity.

April comes. Henrik is stressed after an intense operation and Marvin gets off on the wrong foot with Chase. He is fascinated by the magic. Marvin has seen this before and won't have it. Chase sticks near the others. Despite Jack's attempts to persuade him to treat the new ego more kindly, Marvin doesn't have the heart to comply. Missing people he cared about causing him to be miserable didn't make Chase unique. The only reason he spends time with Chase is to humour Jack. That and he's not that much of an asshole to not try help Chase with his arm.

In a few months, when Jack admits to being wary of a potential friendship with Jacques Septique for fear of history repeating itself, Marvin calls him a hypocrite. That temporarily puts him in place. It's too late by then. Stupid Chase and his need for approval to the point of actually being pretty funny when he wanted to be.

When Sean had visited Boston for PAX back in March, recordings of his intro video began to circulate the internet. Jack had rightfully been furious with Sean. Marvin was outright disturbed by the message. He is not one for having memorable dreams, let alone vivid ones. Nevertheless, he wakes to a concerned Jack. He insists it is nothing, just some stupid nightmare. Jackie can't possibly know he is allowing himself to get attached to Chase.

Marvin can't believe it when his reflection shows a white cat. Chase is impressed when he pets him. The urge to mess with Jack is strong. It pays off with every day that his friend continues to be oblivious. Soon it was almost pitiful how long it was taking Jack to put two and two together. Come on, he was never around when the cat was there too. Keep asking if he got another cat, he'd probably get annoyed by the repetition but certainly wouldn't exhaust himself by giving the same answer. No, he only had Bastet. That was no lie.

He takes the opportunity to wind him up further. He settles by Jack's head, spreads across the sofa obnoxiously and makes a general nuisance of himself. Jack finally understands when Marvin gives up and transforms in front of him. Jack just bursts into laughter, stating he's an idiot. Marvin, human again, agrees with him. What takes him by surprise is when Jack expresses his pride in how far he's come. No, he doesn't deserve the praise. Be proud of him when their family was whole again.

On potentially the worst day of the year, he finds It so stupid how affected he is. It's not like Jackie was actually 17 today. What use would Anti have for him? He has proved he's not above committing murder for the hell of it. Marvin doesn't plan on giving up the search yet. They deserve to at least have a body, to have some closure, right?

He glares at Jack when he tries to coax him out of his room. When Jack refuses to take no for an answer, Marvin cracks. The magician spits some gatekeeping bullshit about how Jackie was closer to him and how it was technically Jack's fault for fighting with Sean so much it drove Jackie to walk off. It reaches the point where Jack claims Marvin is as bad as Sean. The door explodes into flames with the intensity of the response he roars back. That is the only thing to stop him long enough to regain any rationality. Jack probably searches for him for a while before leaving the white cat to its own devices.

The last day of July is calmer. Jack is in a foul mood thanks to an accident involving coffee, technical difficulties and a rough dispute with Sean. All he wants to do is marathon Harry Potter on the character's birthday. Marvin is happy to oblige him, encouraging Chase to join in too. Jack appears slightly happier when they are done.

Marvin hopes this is another blip. The argument sounds like it was pretty bad. Then again, he's heard worse. Nothing could be worse than Sean practically signing a death warrant. He and Jack would sort something out within the next few days. It was an unpleasant end to July but August was around the corner. Surely August would be better than July. They didn't need Sean to be a prominent figure in their lives. They had a good thing going here. It would take something huge to render that obsolete.

August is that something, leaving destruction everywhere.

It begins, three days in, with the doctor screaming for Jack to live while Chase and Marvin desperately struggle to open the door. By the time they have access to their friends, Henrik is nowhere to be seen. But Jack? Jack lays motionless on a hospital bed, hooked to multiple machines.

For some demented reason, Marvin watches the video. If he believed hearing Schneep beg through a door was terrible, he has another thing coming, Witnessing his friend struggle to remain in control was an indescribable horror. The mocking was nearly as awful. There is one thing he gets caught up on.

Puppet. Marvin couldn't think of a better way to describe it. If Anti wanted an obedient servant, Marvin was the perfect candidate. He's stolen Jackie and he's now taken Henrik too. There was nothing to say Marvin wasn't next. If he was Anti, he would have actually picked Marvin first. All it took was one word and he would be done for. Lying got tiring fairly quickly so, if Anti was lucky, it could take no more than a day or two for Marvin's nature to kick in and lead to everyone's downfall. Alternatively, Marvin may be left for last so Anti could gather the others in a room and-

Thank god for Chase. Marvin loses count of all the times he imagines the worst. Whenever the magician is stuck in his bleak thoughts, Chase is there to remind him all is not lost yet. Their current situation makes that hard to believe. Still, the intervention helps to a degree.

A dismal week passes. He doesn't see why he should acknowledge his birthday. What was the point? Anti had stolen Jackie and Henrik from them, not to mention it was possible Jack would never wake up. No, there was no reason to celebrate anything. Chase tries to do his best to make his friend's birthday more than a regular day. Marvin can't say he doesn't appreciate it.

The zombie is not welcomed the way the others have been. He confronts Sean about it, furious that he's creating new characters when Jack was laying unresponsive at home. It soon becomes clear his involvement in the half-dead creature's conception began and ended with a thumbnail for a PUBG video. 'Robbie' was purely a fan creation. It makes increasing sense in the following days. He's a little all over the place thanks to conflicting ideas. At least Sean usually sticks to whatever development he's come up with.

Were twelve days all it took for the subscribers to forget about what had happened? They loved Jack. Even if they weren't aware of the difference, they loved his videos as much as Sean's. It was unbelievable. Sean made a video assuring the viewers nothing was wrong and then distracted them 3 hours later with their own art. He'd had the nerve to act as if he was casually deciding to name him Marvin too.

There are moments where the thought of committing arson or forcing Sean to deal with an intense weed problem cross his mind. But he can't. He has to respect the reality of Sean's control over their lives. Sean giveth and he taketh away. Marvin can't even force himself to ask for Sean's help with finite medical resources.

"I will never forgive you." He seethes when Sean has the audacity to visit. Marvin decides to add the killer phrase before slamming the door in his face, one that shouldn't be taken lightly. "You have my word."

The midpoint of September arrives. The potential happiness they could be attempting to share is missed with a heavy air. He gets an apology from Chase. Henrik had been Chase's close friend. He now understood how Marvin must have been feeling due to Jackie's absence. It is an apology he is willing to accept, even if it wasn't particularly necessary.

Jackie had been missing for over ten months by now. Despite still having Jack and befriending Chase in that time, there was still a small something he could feel was absent. Now three members of their family were out of their reach, that feeling had grown. Marvin can't allow Henrik to be held captive for as long as Jackie. There are more people relying on Henrik's safe return. If Marvin could throw Jackie into the equation too, he would.

He's a bad friend for thinking so but... he doubts they'll ever see Jackie again, regardless of whether he's still alive or not.

It is for that reason that Marvin is entirely unprepared to see the person Chase answers the door to. A second after they catch eyes, Jackie collapses. It can't be Jackie. His figure has essentially been reduced to bone wrapped in skin. When they take his clothes for hygienic purposes, Marvin can do nothing but gawp at the large Y shaped scar forming across Jackie's torso. That didn't even take into consideration the burns and other remnants of wounds. There is some guilt felt when he leaves Chase to finish the task.

While Jackie sleeps, Marvin contemplates all that this means for them now. He's expecting there to be potential changes to make Jackie feel more comfortable. Whatever they are, he's ready for them. He hopes he is, in the very least.

Marvin is not prepared for Jackie's confusion upon hearing his own name. He doubts the whispered recollection of how Jackie hasn't been referred to by his name since November were meant for his ears. He resolves he will call him Jackie as often as possible while still sounding natural. 'Occupational Hazard' wasn't a good nickname anyway.

There is one thing Marvin knows he will struggle with for certain. How the hell is he going to explain the Jack situation to Jackie? Sure, he and Jackie were getting pretty close before Halloween. Jackie was mesmerised by his magic too. That didn't stop the fact that he clearly looked up to Jack. He's going to be heartbroken. He's been through who knows what kind of hell, only to discover someone he cares about was effectively gone. Marvin wishes he could change things for him. But he can't. There's nothing to do except bite the bullet.

It doesn't go well. That was to be expected, obviously. However, he screws up and makes it worse by mentioning Schneep. Henrik and Jack were both better at calming Chase during panic attacks or after nightmares.

He wants to be ecstatic at Jackie's return. It's been the one thing he's wanted for months. So why wasn't it as fulfilling as he'd hoped? He suspects the absence of Jack and Henrik was dampening the mood. They would simply have to work on that. For now, they would have to ensure Jack was cared for and Jackie knew things were going to be better, now he was free.

As soon as Jackie became comfortable enough, he met Bastet. It is a cautious introduction that ends with Jackie cutting it short seconds after making contact with her fur. Marvin plans to hold off on showing him the extent of his power. Surprisingly, when Jackie comes across his alternate form by accident, he accepts the cat as nearly as rapidly as he rejected Bastet. It's enough right now.

So Marvin curls up at the end of Jackie's bed. Maybe this time his presence will let them get through an undisturbed night. Maybe he'll stop feeling as lost as he was at the start of this.


End file.
